Kraken On Coach Brind'Amour Watch After Hurricanes Eliminated

The Carolina Hurricanes' loss could be the Seattle Kraken's gain.

Carolina's season ended Thursday in the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, eliminated in six games by the New York Rangers.

As soon as New York's 5-3 comeback win in Raleigh was complete, the contract watch for 'Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour began in Seattle, and presumably everywhere NHL teams are currently without a coach.

The reason is that Brind'Amour is due a new contract. The Kraken are among teams hoping Carolina owner Tom Dundon won't back up the Brinks truck to pay his coach.

The likelihood is that Brind'Amour is staying put. He played for a decade in Carolina, then transitioned into coaching as a 'Canes assistant in 2011. Seven years later, the team elevated Brind'Amour to head coach, with impressive results.

In the past six years, the coach has led the Hurricanes to the conference finals twice, and to the 2nd round three times. His win totals the past three seasons are 54-52-52, plus a Jack Adams award in 2021.

Of course, being a finalist for the Adams as coach of the year is no guarantee of continued employment. Former Seattle coach Dave Hakstol was a finalist in 2023, one year before being fired last month.

As mentioned, Brind'Amour has been a member of the Hurricanes organization, either as a player or coach, since 2000. For parts of five of those seasons, his teammate was current Seattle general manager Ron Francis. The relationship resumed when Brind'Amour served as an assistant and Francis returned to the organization as director of hockey operations and later GM.

Reports indicated Francis tried to lure his former teammate to be Seattle's first-ever head coach, before Hakstol was ultimately hired.

In his postgame press conference Thursday, Brind'Amour wasn't speaking specifically about himself. But...

"This is what you're going to remember, and that's the hard part. It's a business. I'd love to roll it back (next season) with these guys, but who knows how that's all going to shake out."

Now front offices in several NHL cities wait to see how Brind'Amour's contract status plays out, and whether the hottest free agent behind the bench will be allowed to hit the market.

"I think it’s all but done," Hurricanes owner Dundon told the Raliegh News & Observer earlier this month. “(General manager) Don (Waddell) and him are working on it. I said OK to almost everything they’ve asked me for. They’re just getting through the last little stuff.”

As we all know, the devil's in the details. Let the Brind'Amour watch begin.